Good Posture

For a posture to be "Good", it must, by definition, be that position of the body which facilitates the most efficient use of the force of gravity.

Our bodies are designed to manage and control the effects of gravity in a particular way. This is our "blueprint design", which has resulted from thousands of years of evolution and cannot be altered without structural alteration to our physical shape and design. Quite simply, our blueprint design is what makes us human.

The alignment of the musculoskeletal structure enables gravity to fall straight through the centre. By virtue of our design, our dense strong bones and deep postural muscles are purpose-built to hold us up against the downward force of gravity.

By allowing gravity to fall through the centre of the body and be managed in this way, the superficial muscles that form the rest of our structure are free to do what they do best - moving us around.

When gravity falls straight down through the centre of the body, there is no excess mass on the front or back or left or right of the body, and hence the body is balanced. The centre of gravity lies deep within the core of the abdomen, in and down from the belly button. It is from this point that the rest of the body balances, moves and extends.

Core stability is a buzz word in health and fitness regimes at the moment. If focuses on strengthening and conditioning the deep postural muscles that help to maintain the optimum postural alignment of the spine around the centre of gravity, thus helping to improve and maintain good posture.

There are no two ways about it; nature has done a fantastic job at designing the shape and structure of the human body to make the most efficient use of gravity as we stand on two feet.